Up to 17 federal agencies could potentially miss a requirement to submit standardized financial data to the Department of the Treasury.
As the May 9 deadline looms for agencies to meet the first Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, or DATA, of 2014 reporting milestone, the Government Accountability Office has audited 30 Offices of Inspector General readiness reviews revealing a need to address systems integration issues, a lack of resources and the monitoring process for agency self-reporting.
Once properly implemented, the DATA Act will increase accountability and transparency through such means as making federal spending information searchable on USAspending.gov.
Challenges to meet initial DATA Act implementation playbook steps as reported by OIGs included issues caused by differing technologies and data elements in legacy systems, the need for software updates, a reliance of shared services, the need for methods to consolidate financial data and difficulty in linking awards data between financial and procurement systems.
The OIGs surveyed made several recommendations and suggestions on ways to help agencies address and enhance implementation plans.
A senior accountability official could more directly oversee DATA Act work group progress. Documentation for project activities, key decisions and progress monitoring could be developed. External and internal risks could be identified and mitigation strategies established. Efforts could be focused on reporting required data elements, identifying the universe of obligations and disbursements for DATA Act-compliant reporting, and developing a plan to transition agency contracts to the new unique award identifier. And methodology could be established for mapping data, reviewing output files for accuracy and completeness, submitting test files and assessing milestones.
According to the GAO report, the Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget are not doing enough with information gathered on agency challenges to assist agencies' implementation progress, and they should establish mechanisms to assess audits and promote timely and effective compliance with the DATA Act.
